CMOS Camera Module - 640x480

Questions?

CMOS Camera Module - 640x480

Description:Replacement:SEN-11745. We now carry a higher resolution model of this camera. This page is for reference only.

This is a high-quality color CMOS camera module. Power the CM-26N/P module, hook up any display, monitor, or LCD screen with an RCA input and get vivid color video at 640x480 resolution. Module is easily mountable and has a wide operating voltage (5V to 15V). Comes with high quality optics, all the on board circuitry to output RCA signal, and cable harness.

The camera is small, so I’m sure the sizings given in the above images are correct.
I actually have an issue with mine and I’m wondering if anybody else does… I definitely have it hooked up correctly (unless a measured 12v from a power supply doesn’t work…), but cannot get any image to appear on my computer screen using an EasyCAP usb capture device. Has anybody else had an issue with this and found it to be the settings used to capture?
If I switch the jumper between NTSC and PAL it starts to show random fuzzy images on the screen for a few seconds, then goes away.

Sorry I didn’t see your question earlier tomhak!
You need to be sure to connect the ground in the video cable. (There are two wires in the cable. The individually shielded one is the signal, the other is ground. They must both be connected.)

Thank You Fredjikrang for the reply.
i did as you said, but i don get any video all i’m getting are fuzzy lines no images. am i doing something wrong? i took an old video cable from my vcr and cut it open and coonnected the yellow wire to the camera wire and then connect the power to a 9v battery.
thanks,

I just got this part in today but it looks different than the part shown in the pictures and on the datasheet. There are 20 sockets/pins, but only two are labeled. The only numbers I can read on the PCB are 2011.05.15 (a date?) and C-MOS 32. Any chance you could update the datasheet link or point me in the direction of some info for how to wire this up?
thanks,
amanda

Works great!
Good “bang for the buck” on quality and robust voltage supply tolerance. Just make sure that the RCA cable to the display and the camera cable harness have a common ground, and use very light soldering if splicing yellow signal wire.
“Primo” $32 analog color camera. It’s a nice little honey;

would it be possible to pass the video channel pin through an arduino ethernet board and broadcast the video stream on a webserver or on a configured socket?? if so, is there any documentation outlining a procedure like this?

Has anyone tried to use a camera to make an absolute encoder. I was thinking of printing an encoder grey scale on a drum, then use the video out signal connected into a the RX pin on a micro UART. If the size of image and correct baud rate is selected you should get a good binary value for the current encoder location. The scale would have to have a start and stop bit added to the top and bottom.
The 15khz vertical scan with 8 bit grey scale would be about 150k baud. The 1Vpp would also have to be amplified to 5V level. You could have 2 bytes of data printed on the drum and have 16bit position resolution!!

Can someone tell me how would I connect this to to an lcd screen.
Im new at electronics and I have an idea that I would like to try. I have not had any luck figuring this out. Id be willing to pay someone $20.00 ( paypal ) to tell me how to do this. Thanks! Here is a sample of the lcd screen http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8335

I’ve got this hooked up and not quite working. I’m running it off of a variable supply at 12V, and it is drawing about 40 mA. My RCA and DC Ground are tied together as well. When I scope the video out, I’m seeing a complex waveform as expected that changes when I put my hand in front of the screen, etc. However, I cannot get a picture out on any of my equipment (small TV, two different low power projectors). Am I missing something?
(And yes, verified NTSC on the camera and output devices.)

You’re sending the video signal over the outer barrel, with the center being ground, right?
Look at the RCA jack breakout: video goes over BRK, ground is BRL, and SPR can be left unconnected.
If you use the SparkFun Eagle library (like I do) and use the RCA jack part (POWERJACK_RCA or some such) it will wire them up wrong, so that in the schematic what is the center connection winds up on the PCB as the outer connection, and vice versa.

I just got one of these and it works great. Two things, though:
1) The datasheet appears to be wrong. It shows the 3 wires, left to right, being video ground power, but the actual device is power ground video. Luckily the wires are colored to match the device, so red is still power, black ground, and yellow is video.
2) To the other owners, what are you guys using for mounting the camera?

To wirelessly transmit video with this, can’t I use an ADC to convert the analog output signal to digital, and then transmit the signal over FM? Then I’d use a DAC on the reciever, of course, to convert the digital signal to analog and hook that up to a monitor. Would this work? I’m pretty sure it would, but not that sure…

Theoretically yes, however, you’d have to be sampling the camera, and outputting data very VERY quickly. In reality, I don’t think that this is the best way to go about it.
If you’re going to be using FM anyway, transmit the analog signal over FM (make sure you keep your deviation in check) and then you don’t need to deal with any of the problems with conversion to digital and back.

I realized that I could transmit analog over FM a few days after I posted that, as I was transmitting music over my pirate radio station(haha… good thing it was only outputting about .2 watts in an urban environment…). Thanks for the reply though, you’re at least willing to help.

This camera outputs NTSC (analog) video, which can be displayed by almost anything with an “RCA” jack (old TV, VCR, etc.) It’s not directly compatible with the LCD-08600, which is a digital display meant for microprocessor use.

Just got a pair of these, and noticed the extra g/tx/rx and g/gp3 headers on the side of the board below the ntsc/pal switch. Is there anything interesting behind these? I assume it’s a serial port and a spare gpio, but I’m curious what a camera might need with a serial port!

I am thinking of getting this camera but there is one question that I would need answered before I do:
How could I transmit the video from this camera to a computer ? Xbee, RF link transmitters, wifi ?

I seriously doubt that the iPod can handle analog video in. To even have a chance of it working, you will probably need to get a digital video camera.
And not only that, but I don’t see a video input on the breakout board. You are connected to a video output.

Hello everylbody…
I’m trying to connect my Ipod touch (1 generation) with a podbreak out to the camera. I understand the wires, but i cant get it to ipod to even detect the camera. on the breakout board i am using pin holes # 2, 19 and 10. if anybody has any suggestions on what to do i would really apprecaite it
thanks

Hi guys - I am wanting to use this camera on a remote controlled aircraft, with the signal being sent down to a base station. The Video transmitter, reciever and all that is sorted. The cameras they sell are very pricey though. I am thinking of getting one of these - but can’t seem to find any demo video of it working. People who have used it - can you maybe tell us what the picture quality is like?
Also, where can I locate different lenses that may fit it, as I will be starting off with a wide angle requirement.

I’ve tried looking in the datasheet and on google, but i’m not really sure what i’m looking for.
I bought this camera, as well as the RCA jack, and RCA breakout board.
I connect the red and black wires from the camera to power, and yellow to the “break” on the breakout board (the inside of the rca jack)… what do I have to connect to the “barrel” of the RCA jack to get it working?
Thanks very much.

You must have a ground wire going to the RCA breakout, as well as the signal wire. I’m not sure which one goes where, but they most both be there, or it will never work.
I would leave a question on the RCA breakout board page asking which one you connect the signal, and the ground to, in order to be compatible with common composite video.
It might seem like I am harping a lot on the grounding issues here, but it is the most common problem with cameras like this. The RCA cable and the camera must have a common ground! If you only connect the signal line, it won’t work.

according to the datasheet the camera is only 3.2cm x 3.2cm x 2.2cm… that seems awfly small. Can someone confirm that its infact correct?
They are currently out of stock and i’m drawing up plans for a camera housing so i just want to confirm the dimensions.
Also, do you know when you’ll have more in stock?
Thanks.

Fredjikrang:Sorry I didn’t see your question earlier tomhak!
You need to be sure to connect the ground in the video cable. (There are two wires in the cable. The individually shielded one is the signal, the other is ground. They must both be connected.)
hi, sorry for ignorance. newbie here. I did bought this camera for a wireless project. There is 3 wires from the camera, Black and red i had soldered to a 9V battery connector, and the Yellow wire, i solder it to the bottom of my wireless transmitter(Video port), however, my receiver did not received any signal from my transmitter. Which step i had did wrongly? I don’t really understand how to use the RCA cable to connect to the video wire.You need to be sure to connect the ground in the video cable. (There are two wires in the cable. The individually shielded one is the signal, the other is ground. They must both be connected.) Pls advice

Red wire= power
black= ground
yellow= signal
The cheapest way is to get an old RCA cable, cut it open, and spice in the yellow wires and a ground. (It should be pretty obvious which goes where.) Then just plug it in.

Customer Reviews

SparkFun is an online retail store that sells the bits and pieces to
make your electronics projects possible. Whether it's a robot that can
cook your breakfast or a GPS cat tracking device, our products and
resources are designed to make the world of electronics more accessible.

In addition to products, SparkFun also offers
classes and online tutorials to help educate
individuals in the wonderful world of embedded electronics.